Shared Skies (7 page)

“
Well, different to
everyone on Earth, yes.” Kaley confirmed. Alasdair continued.
“Humans have been aware of us in a vague sort of way for millennia.
Ghosts, spirits, things appearing out of thin air, glimpses of
people who aren't there, a sighting of someone whose last image was
painted 100 years ago–us, Gaiah, all us. Sometimes, our Earthways
form isn't strong enough or we have stayed too long and our energy
to keep our physicality intact is depleted, we waver between
worlds. This world’s history is full of such stories. Also, as you
can now understand, sometimes a Gaianan falls in love with an Earth
person as happened with your parents.”

Gaiah strained forward against her seat
belt. “My parents?”

Kaley pulled her her own belt loose, so she
could twist further around in her seat. Shadows of a never ending
pain were clear on her face.“Yes, your mother, our darling
daughter, a full Gaianan, fell in love with Andrew Hansfort, an
Earthman. They became a melded couple. Melding are unions destined
by the Trinity. They are a rare and special bonding, their love is
beyond the bounds of either world."

There was silence in the
car. Gaiah tried to come to grips with this extraordinary portrayal
of her parents.
Love beyond worlds? Melded
couples?
She rolled down the window to
allow some cool air rush in around her face and try to clear her
head. An image of her father’s heartbroken face filled her head,
and she turned back to Kaley, stabbing the air with her finger.
“Dad never told me any of this, and if it were true,
he-”

Kaley shook her head. “He never knew.”

“
Why didn’t you tell him,
make him see…”

“
Earth people can’t travel
between our worlds, they don’t know they exist. All he knew was
that somehow, love had taken over his life and that was enough.”
Alasdair glanced back at them. “Meldings are beyond our power and
rarely happen. When they do occur, the Gaianan world respects and
supports it with all its resources. Because if a child does result,
and if the child favours its Gaianan heritage–which is even rarer,
this child is of immense importance and significance to us
all.”

Looking out the window at the passing
traffic, Gaiah’s mind went on screen saver. They were now on the
anonymous-looking A9 to Inverness. She barely noticed the splashes
of yellow and purple wild flowers growing through the brush at the
back of the grass-lined verge. Wide open acres, cultivated with
tall ranks of pylons and telegraph poles, whizzed by as she tried
to process this.

“
Earth too, has taken
notice of these meldings, without realizing it,” continued Kaley.
“They have written them into their histories, their literature and
their legends. Every Earth child knows of Romeo and Juliet,
Guinevere and Lancelot, Helen and Paris, Shah Jahan and Mumtaz
Mahal.”

Gaiah just knew her face looked as blank as
her mind felt. Alasdair clarified. “Of Taj Mahal fame. One of the
greatest Indian love stories?”

“
Oh, yes, of course, I’ve
heard of that, just never known their names.” Gaiah could hardly
believe she was making rational responses to any of this
madness.

“
All of these,
unfortunately, as with your parents, have something in common-a
death.” Kaley paused. She closed her eyes and her voice grew soft.
“Even with the support of our whole community, a Gaianan cannot
live for years on Earth without fatally damaging their
energy-producing capabilities. Our whole world tried to help, but
we only number hundreds of thousands as opposed to the Earth’s
millions, and the Or’kans are even less, they’re counted in
thousands.”

Kaley stopped speaking. Alasdair, took one
hand off the steering wheel, stretched his arm back behind the
passenger seat, Kaley’s hand met his and his knuckles whitened with
a tight squeeze. Kaley took another deep breath and continued,

“
Your parents enhanced
each other’s gifts to an extraordinary degree. Your dad, already a
great artist became phenomenal when he melded with Nia and she
became one of our best healers of all time.”

“
My mum was a doctor?”
interrupted Gaiah.

Alasdair released Kaley's hand and glanced
back at Gaiah. “Not in the sense you mean it. Our healers try to
heal the damage done to Earth by the Or’kans. She was already good
at her job but after meeting Andrew, she could sense the damage
even as it was being done. But, their true success and what has
made even our loss bearable–has been you, Gaiah.” Alasdair’s voice
broke and there was silence in the car.

Gaiah’s brain was whirling. “But why did she
have to die? Why couldn’t you save her somehow, make her go back to
Gaiana?”

“
Melded lovers just can’t
bear to be parted and every minute is precious. When you were born,
their happiness was boundless. It was worth everything to her, to
stay with you both.”

Gaiah's eyes filled at the thought of her
young parents feeling they had the world in their hands. Not
knowing how soon their globe was about to shatter.

“
You see, Gaiah, Gaianan
lives have different measurements; if she had returned to Gaiana
and spent enough time to recover, she would have returned to an
Earth where her husband was long gone.”

Gaiah's hand flew to her mouth. Alasdair
took over, meeting Gaiah's horrified eyes in the rear view
mirror.

“
I’m sure you have heard
tales of Rip Van Winkle or Tir na n’Og, the Land of Youth? People
coming back unchanged after centuries? These stories abound in
Earth’s literature because they are true.”

This was a step too far. Gaiah hunched back
over folded arms and stared out the window.

Chapter Five

Despite her desire to disbelieve everything,
Gaiah was reviewing all that her grandparents had said. She jumped
as a thought hit her. “Gaianan time is different to Earth
time?”

“
Yes, Gaiah, I'm afraid it
is.” Kaley sounded as if she knew what was coming.

“
So...ten years for me,
looking for you both, lonely and missing you and worried...was what
for you?”

Alasdair slowed the car and glanced back at
Kaley.

“
About four months in
Gaianan time,” he said slowly.

Gaiah's voice rose an octave.“Dear God! Four
months! You've barely had time to miss me, while I was crying
myself to sleep for years on end. How could you do it to me? How
could you be so cruel?”

“
Gaiah!” Alasdair's voice
wasn't quite so soft. “We told you it nearly broke our hearts to
stay away and don't forget, for us, it's only four months since our
daughter died.”

Gaiah slumped back, her mind spinning. She
spoke quietly, “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to–”

Kaley cut across her. “Of course,
sweetheart, don't worry. How could you know or understand any of
this? We know how weird all of this is for you.”

They continued in silence. Gaiah was
grateful that Alasdair and Kaley seemed to have realized she needed
a bit of mental space. Kaley still held Gaiah’s hand, but she
stared down at it, gently rubbing her thumb across it from time to
time saying nothing.

Eventually Gaiah sighed. “I’m so tired of
traveling. This road seems endless. Why can’t we just do something,
if we're so special? Oh, I don’t know, like, just suddenly ‘be’
there or jump dimensions or anything?”

Alasdair smiled. “It’s
not
Star Wars
,
Gaiah. We are real, bound by real physics and the rules of matter
and mass as they apply in each dimension.” He paused and looked at
a large and complicated watch on his wrist. “Anyway, being real we
need a break, need to find a bathroom, and stretch our legs. Next
petrol station we’re filling up on coffee and pastries.”

Soon they were all walking
around the forecourt of a country garage. A sense of un-reality hit
her as she breathed in the cool, gusting, Scottish air, laden with
rain and the scent of trees.
How can any
of this be true? What am I doing here? I’m in the middle of
nowhere. I’m miles from home, miles from Dad.
Panic started. First in her stomach, coffee and pastry
threatened to return and her mouth filled with saliva. Her palms
became damp. Two warm arms wrapped around her and pulled her
tight.

Alasdair's voice came from above her head.
“Gaiah, darling, you are safe. Don't worry, you are with us, where
you belong.”

She stiffened in his embrace, but the warmth
and strength of his hug, the love in his voice banished her panic.
This was real, her grandfather was solid, Kaley standing next to
him, was real. Gaiah hugged her grandfather back. “I know.” She
stepped back and smiled at them both. For the first time in ten
years she could smile at her grandparents. The thought made her
light up inside and her smile became a full-grown grin. Kaley and
Alasdair matched her grin as they headed back to the car.

The wind snatched long tendrils of her hair,
whipping them across her face, every time she tried to pull it
back, more escaped.

Kaley caught it and smoothed it down gently.
“Troublesome, isn’t it? But it’s always a wonderful occasion when a
young Gaianan girl’s hair grows to its adult length. Within a year
from that date, their abilities begin to appear and they start
training. I can’t tell you how sorry I am that I wasn’t there when
it happened to you.”

“
Oh, God, I wish you had
been, it was awful. I was so scared. It’s hard to believe it should
have been a happy occasion.” Gaiah took a deep, self-pity banishing
breath.

“
Here,” said Kaley, “this
is what we use at home.” She handed Gaiah what looked like two
small, normal hair bands but made of a shimmery, soft, elastic
material. They were both connected by two long thin silver ribbons.
She showed Gaiah how to unhook one elastic, gather her hair into a
pony tail and secure it in the elastic with the ribbons
attached.

Kaley then plaited Gaiah’s hair, bringing
the silver threads around and through each turn. As she worked at
the long hair, Kaley explained that all Gaianan women, when they
reached maturity had hair down to, or just below their waists. That
was the way it was and no amount of shaving or chopping could
change it for longer than a few hours.

Gaiah sighed as she nodded. This part at
least was easy to believe. Kaley pulled the finished plait around
over Gaiah’s shoulder for her to inspect. The ribbons seemed to
spread and hold the hair. At the end of the plait, Kaley used the
second bobble and reattached the ribbons. Now Gaiah’s hair was
firmly in place and the ribbons shimmered and glowed through her
hair.

“
Wow. That’s fantastic, it
looks so…so…”

“
Medieval?” suggested
Kaley. “I
did
mention Guinevere; she started quite a fashion.”

Gaiah shook her head. “This is all crazy.
Very crazy.”

Before they got into the car, Kaley put her
arms around Gaiah. “Look, I know this all seems way too much for
you now, you need time for it to sink in, to understand what it is
really like. So no more serious talking till we get home, there’s
so much more and not all as pleasant.” This time Kaley sat into the
front passenger seat.

A black motor bike drove past slowly and
Gaiah could swear emerald eyes looked at her through the visor of
the helmet. Her skin prickled with unease, but given everything
she'd been listening to, unease was to be expected.

As they sped through
darkening countryside they chatted easily, about whether the
final
Harry Potter
movies did justice to the books. Gaiah thought they had
captured the spirit perfectly, Kaley thought they had left out too
much and Alasdair said he refused to watch movies of books that he
loved.

Kaley and Alasdair reminisced about the
picnic they had all gone on when Gaiah was four or five. Kaley
smiled back at Gaiah. “You planned a secret treat for us all.”
Alasdair chuckled. “Unfortunately, for once, you managed to keep a
secret.”

“
Oh no, what did I
do?”

“
Five enormous slices of
ice cream, wrapped in serviettes and hidden in your bag. Which you
tried to produce two hours later. That's what.”

Alasdair's description of Gaiah’s face as
she discovered the treat gone and her bag soggy with melted
ice-cream reduced them all to helpless laughter and Gaiah felt as
if she remembered it herself. By now, dusk was claiming the day and
Gaiah watched Inverness, which they had just skirted, being marked
by ribbons of light.

“
Nearly home.” Alasdair
sounded happy. “We must pick up some groceries first.”

They drove through the new developments of
red brick houses, past dozens of identical white houses with neat
gardens. A few twists and turns off Leachkin road and they were
heading into highland country at the far side of Craigphadraig
woods. A small country shop at the side of the road had a display
of potatoes and cabbages outside.

“
Oh, this will do fine,
let’s call into Mrs. McKintyre,” Alasdair said as he pulled off the
road. They strolled into the tiny shop, and were warmly greeted by
a small round woman with grey hair. She filled their order,
collecting and packing, eggs, fresh bread, vegetables and fruit.
All the time, she was shouting to some unseen person in the
back.

“
Have ya nae found those
boxes yet, Graeme? Hurry up now, you’re dawdling!” She nodded at
the back of the shop. “Young people these days, no idea how to
work! And now, his school friend’s arrived to chat. I dunno how I
put up with it. If it weren’t for the fact that my grandchildren
are staying with me for the summer and they seem to love him, I’da
sent him packing ages ago.”